Of the fifty some ways I’ve listed above; I’ve used all but about 5 for marketing myself, my business and my products.

All I would suggest is; don’t rely on only one or two ways of marketing and expect that to be effective.

Your marketing should accomplish more then just an instant sale, but also lay the foundation for future sales.
Not only should your marketing be targeting the type customers that would buy your product, but also be used to set your image and the image of your business.

If you want to treat yourself, your business and your marketing like some back yard, jack-legged fly-by-night wanna-be, then you can’t expect your customers to look at you like a professional craftsman!

It doesn’t matter if you do this part time or you have a full time woodworking career; your image that you and your marketing portray is what the customer will base a lot of their buying decisions on.

You’ll be shocked when you target the right customer and set the right image for yourself and your business, how much easier it is to get the price you want for your woodworking. (They all have to work together to be successful!)

Marketing should be working for you almost non-stop, 24/7 if it’s to be effective. So the more ways you can find to market yourself, your business and your product, the better chance you have for someone to find you and want to buy from you.

I hope you’ve taken notice that whenever I mention marketing; I’m referring to you, your business and your product. If you’re not marketing and selling all three then you’re not marketing effectively!

So really there is no reason for anyone not to be able to sell their woodworking; it’s just a matter of knowing how.

Too many woodworkers don’t realize that it’s their attitude that can be their worst enemy.

If you have a negative attitude towards the general buying public, the economy, where you live or your competition, or lack of confidence in your pricing and selling abilities, it doesn’t matter how hard you try to hide it, the customer can sense it and it will have a negative effect on your business.

Attitudes are Contagious; is yours worth catching or spreading?

We’ve covered a lot of ideas in this series and I’m sure we could come up with that many more ideas if we took the time and effort to look for more ways to market and sell our products.

What’s important is that we take the time and put the effort into learning how to market ourselves and our product and not be afraid to be a salesman.

The same applies to pricing your work; if you don’t price your work to make a profit or you don’t even know if you made a profit and unwilling to learn how, then you will never have a successful or profitable woodworking business.

I hope there will be some ideas here that will help you develop a marketing plan that really takes your woodworking to another level.

As for the ones with the negative attitudes; just do us a favor and quite whining and complaining that you can’t make any money in woodworking, quite blaming the customer (or lack of) and quite blaming the economy or where you live. Quite using the excuse there’s no money to be made in woodworking, that there’s too much competition or nobody is looking for quality anymore.

As the old saying goes; Excuses are like belly buttons; everybody’s got one, but who really cares. If I offended anyone, sorry, but I feel it’s more important to tell people what they need to hear…………..not necessarily what they want to hear.

Woodworking and selling our woodworking is pretty much the same as anything else in life. We get out of it what we’re willing to put into it. If you want to learn woodworking, then you put the effort into learning how and it’s the same for selling our work; if we want to sell it, then we have to put the effort into learning how.

Success or failure is totally up to you.

All my successes and failures are mine, nobody else’s. My woodworking took me were I was willing to go. I could have failed at it or I could have made even more money then I did, but that was totally my responsibility and effort. No excuses, just reality!

Thanks for following along and I can only hope everyone will enjoy their woodworking and find the rewards they desire as I have.I wish the best of luck to everyone.

If you have any questions; feel free to drop me a line.huffordfurnituregroup@yahoo.com

22 comments so far

I have not commented on all of your entries, but I assure you that I have read them all a couple times over. I have already changed my pricing. Marketing I was at least going in the right direction. Both of your series have been awesome.

In the short time that I’ve been a member of the LumberJocks family, I have read numerous pleas for information on how to get started in a woodworking oriented business. Many of the LJs have kindly offered suggestions from their own experiences to help get started, however none as comprehensive as you have detailed in your business models.

I have retired after 42 years of serving communities with a major Telecommunications company. My woodworking shop has been more of a stress release valve.

If I were contemplating a start up in business, the details imparted in your Blog Series would be what I would hope to find if I Googled… “Help”.

I am a firm believer in ‘Paying it Forward’ and lifting up my fellow man when I have something to offer.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to ‘Pay it Forward’.

Best regards. – Len

Work Safely and have Fun.

-- Mother Nature should be proud of what you've done with her tree. - Len ...just north of a stone's throw from the oHIo, river that is, in So. Indiana.

Thanks for your comments; I too have been asked on numerous occassions how to start a woodworking business.

I’ve just finished writing my first book entitled excactly that; How to start a woodworking business, but have not published it yet.

It used to bother me knowing that I was just a small one man shop from a small farming community and to think I was trying to “compete” with the big boys, but once I got over that hang-up; I realized it didn’t matter where I was from or how big my company was, I could build and sell my woodworking to the customers I wanted to and support my family doing so.

I wanted my book (in fact everything I write) to be able to relate to the average woodworker that would like to have some success in what they build and sell.

I would really like to travel and do seminars on some of these topics, but haven’t figured out how to get started on that one yet.

But for now, I will be glad to share whatever I can with whoever is interested.

I’ve tried to share my journey with many; basically to let them know that I started my business on a very tight budget (really no budget) with no formal training in woodworking and built my business from there.

I guess that’s why I get frustrated when I hear some of the excuses that’s used why someone can’t succeed in a woodworking business.

I’ll be the first to admit it hasn’t been easy all the time, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Like I’ve said; I take all the responsibilities for my successes and my failures.

Wonderful information, especially since it comes from a person who has “been there done that”. Ever think of consulting on the side? Some of the points you bring up are quite illuminating and have made me pause to rethink my game plan. Thanks for taking the time to provide this much needed information, to so many woodworkers.

Anyone thinking of making a go at it, take the time and read this entire series of blogs.

John, This has been a great series with some really good information. As I noted earlier my wife and I have just started selling more of our handiwork. All this information will come in great handy as we continue to build. I have some time this week and planning to go back and read the first series on pricing. I believe we have a pretty decent model but always good to get a 2nd opinion. Thanks again, and look forward to seeing the book.